A surprise conversion

THE inbox pings, the Twitter feed grows more followers; Jesus is still in conversation with the world and people are still curious about faith.

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The Gospel knows no boundaries. It is not for a targeted demographic, a particular interest group, or a specific culture or people – Jesus cuts across all of it and speaks into the heart of every man. He invites us to be reconciled to God and our fellow human beings. He opens a way that invites all to discover what it means to be at peace with God. It is this way that is opened up because of his resurrection. Jesus is God’s new Adam. He represents a new world order. Christians are now called to believe that the Kingdom has come and we are the agents of the change bringing it about. It is this call to social justice and action that the church must embrace. Social media gives us the opportunity to speak up and live out the gospel.

The Jesus conversations move us beyond the rules and regulations of formal religious practice. Instead, his presence becomes transformative, changing a thief into a saint and a doubting disciple into a believer. It is his presence that breathes life into doubting dust. It is in moments like these that suddenly we see the bigger picture and it changes everything. We backtrack on what we have previously said and thought. It’s the place between a complacent assumption and a new realisation.

Thomas was adamant that he needed to see the nail prints and touch the disfigured body of Jesus – only then would he believe. Then the opportunity arises and what does he do? He finds himself on his knees worshipping Jesus, calling him, “my Lord and my God.”

It was not the nail pierced hands or feet that won Thomas’ heart. It was the presence of the risen Jesus. Jesus reveals himself to us all in different ways. Very often he starts by revealing ourselves to ourselves.

C S Lewis, writing in his book Surprised by Joy, shares the moment when on top of a London bus going to Headington, he moved from doubt to faith in God.

He explains the feeling of transition from being an atheist to being a theist like unbuckling a heavy suit of armour. He writes how he felt physically trapped by his atheism and liberated from these strictures by choosing belief … but even describing it as a choice was not really accurate; it was not a choice but a given.

Lewis found himself in the same place as Thomas, confronted with a surprise conversion, a moment of revelation. He had come to realise it was time to stop striving and time to begin to start trusting.

The truth is when we commit to faith in Jesus, something happens, be it gradual or be it in an instant. The change occurs often when we least expect it. One thing is certain, faith comes about through revelation, not through a simple process of logic or reason. If it depends on logic and reason then our knowledge of God would be framed by our limited human understanding.

We may struggle with issues of faith and belief. We may think the faith we once had has long gone. We may feel or think that God is distant and has passed us by – we’ve grown up, we don’t need his presence.

Be careful! One day on a bus, or in a car, or listening to piece of music, or surfing the net, a new fact about yourself and your need might suddenly be discovered. Like Thomas and C S Lewis you may find that the door you closed so deliberately, so long ago, might have opened an inch or more, and you could find yourself drawn to walk through it, and glimpse a new view of God and yourself that takes your breath away.

The Very Rev Albert Bogle is a Pioneer Minister of Sanctuary First Church Online www.sanctuary/first.org.uk

This article appears in the May 2017 Issue of Life and Work

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